Meet Professor Seduction

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Playboys, philanderers, gigolos. Call them what you will; whatever their character flaws, pickup artists are, at least, confident, goal-oriented individuals with the wherewithal to get what they want. And 'what they want' is hardly a secret: One vodka martini and the twinkle in 007's eye betrays his every dirty desire. Commitment, as you might guess, is rarely among them.

But that might be changing. Believe it or not, today's digitized world could be bringing the age of the one-night stand to an end. According to a cover story in Saturday Night magazine (July 2004), today's seduction community (yes, there is such a thing, and it has blogs) is distancing itself from the sexcentric stereotypes of yore. As writer Christopher Shulgan discovers, the new seducers are looking for more than the usual Saturday-night hanky-panky -- they also crave 'a partner to snuggle with on Sunday morning.'

These men are largely mobilized around FastSeduction.com, an online community that facilitates the kind of knowledge sharing at which the Internet is particularly adept. As the Web site's tagline, 'Class is now in session . . .,' suggests, the site is more than a boasting ground for locker room chatter. Its purpose is didactic, and its discussion boards are filled with posts offering earnest advice on things like being mindful of nuance, staying attentive to your own style, and coping with rejection. It's all part of the new world of digital folk knowledge, where one can get bona fide degrees, certificates of ministry, and plain old useful tips on cooking or gardening or meeting that special someone.

'Technology and the legion of solitary pursuits it has spawned are fundamentally changing the dating game,' Shulgan writes. Many modern Casanovas are using their seduction techniques not simply in search of casual sex (though that is still often the case), but as a means of besting the hyperpopulated bar-and-club scene and achieving a loving, long-term relationship. As one man put it, 'Dude, I want an awesome girlfriend.'

The harbinger of this seemingly contradictory revolution in the science of smooth is a 6-foot, 5-inch semiemployed magician from Toronto who calls himself Mystery. For $1500 a head, Mystery teaches a three-day seminar in seduction, consisting of both classroom learning and night-time field sessions in bars and clubs, which he calls 'The Mystery Method.' Since creating the course in 2000, Mystery, who does almost all his recruiting online, has trained hundreds, if not thousands, of aspiring seducers in the art of attraction, cinching his place as the leader of the ever-growing FastSeduction.com set, who refer to Mystery mostly in messianic terms.

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